Thread: New S.C. immigration police unit ready to investigate crime

But unit’s officers will need federal help in identifying immigrants

Published: August 11, 2012
By Noelle Phillips
heraldonline.com

A new police unit is set to hit the streets in South Carolina to track down immigrants who commit crimes, but its officers will not have the authority to check suspects’ residency status.

The S.C. Immigration Enforcement Unit – the only one of its kind in the nation – was created by state lawmakers to target immigrants who are in South Carolina illegally and might also be breaking other laws.

But it did not receive the necessary federal approval for its officers to check someone’s residency status. That’s because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discontinued the program that empowered local agencies to act on the federal government’s behalf.

Still, the unit’s commander said not knowing who is here legally or illegally will not handicap his officers – and that they will still investigate crimes committed by immigrants.

The six officers in the new unit mostly will work undercover as they investigate immigrants who are involved in drug smuggling, human trafficking and other serious crimes. The unit will not spend its time hunting for illegal immigrants on the state’s highways or at job sites, said Lt. Eddie C. Johnson, the commander.

“We’re not trying to start a panic with people saying that these folks are out there trying to snatch people up,” Johnson said.

But advocates for the state’s Hispanic community are concerned that the unit will overstep its authority because it lacks the ability to determine whether anyone is in the country illegally.

“They will be stepping into dangerous territory if they don’t have the required training,” said Tammy Beshearse, an attorney with the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center.

The S.C. Immigration Enforcement Unit was created in 2011 when the state’s latest immigration law went into effect. The unit, which falls under the S.C. Department of Public Safety, has been in the organizational stages for the past year. Now its officers are almost ready to begin working the streets, Johnson said.

There have been few models to follow as no other state has a similar unit, said Johnson, an S.C. Highway Patrol veteran who came out of retirement to command the unit.

“When I say we started from scratch, I mean we started from scratch,” Johnson said. “There was nothing but an empty room.”

The unit, which has its own insignia and uniforms, was designed to have 12 members, including a commander and an administrative assistant. So far, six officers have been hired, Johnson said. Plans for hiring four more officers have not been finalized, he said.

The state gave the unit $1.3 million last year to start up but organizers only spent $440,723. This year, the unit will operate on a $689,780 budget.

Although the S.C. unit didn’t receive ICE’s approval to check immigration status, they still have been working with the federal agency.

The six officers have been training with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies, Johnson said. The unit also will provide immigration enforcement training to other police agencies in South Carolina.

The General Assembly created the unit at the request of Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, who did not agree with an earlier provision that would have allowed police officers to be sued if they failed to comply with requirements to check people’s immigration status.

The law required the unit to sign an agreement with ICE that would give its officers authority to investigate suspects’ immigration status.

However, ICE discontinued those agreements in February because federal authorities did not find them to be effective, said Vincent Picard, a spokesman in ICE’s Atlanta office. Other programs such as Secure Communities, which checks immigration status of anyone booked in a jail, work better, he said. That program operates in all county jails in South Carolina.

Beshearse, who serves as an advocate for immigrants, said she thought the unit’s purpose was to assist local sheriffs and police departments in determining whether someone is a legal immigrant. Without the federal agreement, though, she said she was concerned about how the officers would determine which criminals were immigrants.

“They run the risk of the federal government stepping in and saying ‘What are you doing?’” she said.

The immigration unit will be able to investigate people suspected of violating state law and make arrests for those crimes. But when it comes to determining their residency status, they must call ICE, Picard said.

Johnson said his unit will work closely with ICE as it investigates foreign-born criminals. And he is aware that his officers could be walking a fine line when it comes to racial profiling.

“I don’t think anyone should think that just because of race, color or religion that they should expect to see us,” he said.

New S.C. immigration police unit ready to investigate crime | Local News | Rock Hill Herald Online

Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Modified Tuesday, August 14, 2012

First-of-its-kind police unit to focus on immigrants who commit crimes

Noelle Phillips | McClatchy Newspapers

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new police unit is set to hit the streets in South Carolina to track down immigrants who commit crimes, but its officers will not have the authority to check suspects' residency status.

The South Carolina Immigration Enforcement Unit - the only one of its kind in the nation - was created by state lawmakers to target immigrants who are in the state illegally and might also be breaking other laws.

But it did not receive the necessary federal approval for its officers to check a person's residency status. That's because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discontinued the program that empowered local agencies to act on the federal government's behalf.

Still, the unit's commander said not knowing who is here legally or illegally will not handicap his officers, and that they will still investigate crimes committed by immigrants.

The six officers in the new unit mostly will work undercover as they investigate immigrants who are involved in drug smuggling, human trafficking and other serious crimes. The unit will not spend its time hunting for illegal immigrants on the state's highways or at job sites, said Lt. Eddie C. Johnson, the commander.

"We're not trying to start a panic with people saying that these folks are out there trying to snatch people up," Johnson said.

But advocates for the state's Hispanic community are concerned that the unit will overstep its authority because it lacks the ability to determine whether anyone is in the country illegally.

"They will be stepping into dangerous territory if they don't have the required training," said Tammy Beshearse, an attorney with the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center.

The S.C. Immigration Enforcement Unit was created in 2011 when the state's latest immigration law went into effect. The unit, which falls under the S.C. Department of Public Safety, has been in the organizational stages for the past year. Now its officers are almost ready to begin working the streets, Johnson said.

There have been few models to follow as no other state has a similar unit, said Johnson, an S.C. Highway Patrol veteran who came out of retirement to command the unit.

"When I say we started from scratch, I mean we started from scratch," Johnson said. "There was nothing but an empty room."

The unit, which has its own insignia and uniforms, was designed to have 12 members, including a commander and an administrative assistant. So far, six officers have been hired, Johnson said. Plans for hiring four more officers have not been finalized, he said.

The state gave the unit $1.3 million last year to start up but organizers only spent $440,723. This year, the unit will operate on a $689,780 budget.

Although the S.C. unit didn't receive ICE's approval to check immigration status, it still has been working with the federal agency.

The six officers have been training with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies, Johnson said. The unit also will provide immigration enforcement training to other police agencies in South Carolina.

The General Assembly created the unit at the request of Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, who did not agree with an earlier provision that would have allowed police officers to be sued if they failed to comply with requirements to check people's immigration status.

The law required the unit to sign an agreement with ICE that would give its officers authority to investigate suspects' immigration status.

However, ICE discontinued those agreements in February because federal authorities did not find them to be effective, said Vincent Picard, a spokesman in ICE's Atlanta office. Other programs such as Secure Communities, which checks immigration status of anyone booked in a jail, work better, he said. That program operates in all county jails in South Carolina.
Beshearse, who serves as an advocate for immigrants, said she thought the unit's purpose was to assist local sheriffs and police departments in determining whether someone is a legal immigrant. Without the federal agreement, though, she said she was concerned about how the officers would determine which criminals were immigrants.

"They run the risk of the federal government stepping in and saying 'What are you doing?' " she said.

The immigration unit will be able to investigate people suspected of violating state law and make arrests for those crimes. But when it comes to determining their residency status, they must call ICE, Picard said.

Johnson said his unit will work closely with ICE as it investigates foreign-born criminals. And he is aware that his officers could be walking a fine line when it comes to racial profiling.


"I don't think anyone should think that just because of race, color or religion that they should expect to see us," he said.
First-of-its-kind police unit to focus on immigrants who commit crimes | McClatchy

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